Many Going to College Are Not Ready
Only about half of this year’s high school graduates have the reading skills they need to succeed in college, and even fewer are prepared for college-level science and math courses, according to a yearly report from ACT, which produces one of the nation’s leading college admissions tests.
The report, based on scores of the 2005 high school graduates who took the exam, some 1.2 million students in all, also found that fewer than one in four met the college-readiness benchmarks （基準）in all four subjects tested: reading comprehension, English, math and science.
ACT sets its college-readiness benchmarks — including the reading comprehension benchmark, which is new this year—by correlating（聯(lián)系）earlier students’ ACT scores with grades they actually received as college freshmen. Based on that data, the benchmarks indicate the skill level at which a student has a 70 percent likelihood（可能性）of earning a C or better, and a 50 percent chance of earning a B or better.
Among those who took the 2005 test, only 51 percent achieved the benchmark in reading, 26 percent in science, and 41 percent in math; the figure for English was 68 percent. Results from the new optional ACT writing test, which was not widely taken this year, were not included in the report.
About 40 percent of the nation’s 2005 high school graduates took the ACT, and the average overall score was unchanged from the year before. Minority students make up 27 percent of all ACT test takers. Besides, there are also other worrying trends in the ACT report as well, including a continuing decline in the percentage of students planning to major in engineering, computer science and education.
50. The report from ACT mainly tells readers the problem that ______.
A. few minority students graduates took ACT
B. many who intend to go to college are not ready
C. the college-readiness benchmarks is high this year
D. the tests for some subjects are too difficult
51. According to the benchmarks in 2005, about how many students will not earn C?
A. 30 percent.      B. 70 percent.      C. 50 percent.       D. 26 percent.
52. Which of the following pictures can correctly show the numbers of the students who achieve the benchmark in different subjects?
A.        B.
C.        D.
53. Which of the followings can be found in the report from ACT in 2005?
A. The report about the writing test is very objective.
B. More boy students are not good at science and math.
C. The percentage of students majoring science declined.
D. The average score of 2005 ACT participants changed greatly.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Without the atmosphere there would be no weather, no wind, rain, snow, or clouds. Air is all around us; we live at the bottom of a great ocean of air. It is invisible, but we can feel it when it moves. There are miles of air above us, pressing down with great weight on the earth and everything on it. Because air presses down on us from all directions at the same time, and because we are able to bear (忍受) this weight, we do not seem to feel it. But scientists have proved that air has this weight, and that anything that has weight creates(產(chǎn)生) a force called pressure. As changes in air pressure take place, they, make air move.
Air is a gas that expands(膨脹) when heated, gets lighter, and moves upward. When air is cooled, it gets heavier, sinks close to the earth's surface, and flows like water in a great river. As warn air rises, cold air rushes in to take its place. 'Thus winds originate (起源). The winds that blow high above us are caused by the warmer air running away from colder air. The wind we feel near the earth's surface is the heavy colder air trying hard to catch the warmer air. Changes in temperature cause the air to move. And of course there are many changes, so air movements are taking place practically all the time.
小題1:The first paragraph mainly tells us the causes of
A．why we don't feel airB．why atmosphere is important to us
C．why there is air surrounding usD．why there is air pressure
小題2:Air moves under such conditions that
A．there is air pressureB．the air is heavy
C．a(chǎn)ir pressure doesn't remain the same all the timeD．a(chǎn)ir comes up and down
小題3:Which of the following pictures best tells the movements of warm air and cold air?
小題4:According to the passage, in same areas if farmers who grow grapes (葡萄) light fires in the early morning, that is because the farmers want to________________．
A．drive away warm airB．prevent cold air from coming to harm their plants
C．cause more windD．stop warm air running away

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


All things change except barbers, the ways of barbers, and the surroundings of barbers. These never change. What one experiences in a barber’s shop the first time he enters one is what he always experiences in barbers’ shops afterward till the end of his days.
I got shaved this morning as usual. A man approached the door from Jones Street as I approached it from Main--a thing that always happens. I hurried up, but it was of no use; he entered the door one little step ahead of me, and I followed in and saw him take the only empty chair, the one headed by the best barber. It always happens so. I sat down, hoping that I might sit in the chair belonging to the better of the remaining two barbers, for he was a bit ahead. I watched the probabilities with strong interest. When I saw that No. 2 was gaining on No. 1, my interest grew to solicitude (孤單). When No. 1 was gradually losing the race, my solicitude rose to anxiety. When No. 1 caught up again, and both were about to finish and say “Next!” first, my very breath stood still with the suspense. But when I saw that he had lost the race by a single instant, I rose angrily and quitted the shop, to keep from falling into the hands of No. 2; for I have none of that firmness that enables a man to look calmly into the eyes of a waiting barber and tell him he will wait for his fellow-barber’s chair.
I stayed out fifteen minutes, and then went back, hoping for better luck. Unfortunately, all the chairs were occupied now, and four men sat waiting, silent, and looking bored, as men always do who are waiting their turn in a barber’s shop. I sat down and waited.
At last my turn came. A voice said “Next!” and I give in to No. 2, of course. It always happens so. I smiled and said that I was in a hurry, and it affected him as strongly as if he had never heard it.  
He explored my hair with his claws and suggested that it needed trimming(修剪). I said I did not want it trimmed. He explored again and said it was pretty long for the present style. I said I had had it cut only a week before. He stopped for a moment, and then asked “who cut it?” I stared at him from the mirror and replied “You did!” Then a dog-fight attracted his attention, and he ran to the window and stayed and watched it…
1. The author left the barber’s shop mainly because_________.
A. he would like to wait for “No. 1” outside
B. he would rather be served by the best barber
C. he lacked the courage to tell “No. 2” his intention
D. he was angry at the slow speed of “No. 1”
2. What is the change of the author’s attitude from the moment he went into the barber’s to the moment he left it?
A. Disappointed---Anxious---Hopeful---Angry.
B. Disappointed --Hopeful---Anxious---Angry.
C. Hopeful--- Sad --- Anxious ---Angry.     
D. Hopeful--- Anxious --- Angry --- Sad.
3. The author chose “No. 2” in the end, because________.
A. he had no choice                                  B. he was in a hurry
C. “No. 1” avoided him on purpose            D. he is always one step behind others
4. The underlined word “suspense” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ________.
A. loneliness                                             B. possibility
C. anxiety                                                D. hope
5. What is likely to happen next?
A. The author lost his temper.                    B. “No. 2” ran out of his patience.
C. The author was well-served by “No. 2”. D. The author was treated the same way as usual.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


A religious person will have a different thought from one who is not．And a Democrat usually doesn’t view issues the same way as a Republican．
Take the shoes for example．It has the same principle．Some like custom shoes for personalization．But some don’t．Someone will buy a shoes printer only for one desired image．That all depends on different conceptions．So when you have a negative thought about yourself, don’t consider it a fact until you also reflect on the opposite view．And if the alternative is more positive, accept that to be your truth．
An anorexic （厭食癥患者） looks in the mirror and thinks she’s fat．As a result she starves herself and rids her body of vital nutrition．But society thinks she’s too skinny．Unless she can change her perception, she’ll never agree with society．And she’ll never get better．What are you seeing in you that is preventing you from realizing how beautiful you are? Or how smart you are? Or how lovable? If you take the positive view, that is how other people will see you too．
More often than not the critical statements that damage your self-esteem come from your own mind．Now you know how you can silence them．A bad comment is usually not about you; it’s about something that is going on with the commenter．Don’t believe anything that is said to you that isn’t in your best interest．And don’t waste any time or brainpower on anyone who doesn’t think you are amazing．
It’s what you think that creates how you feel．Design your own custom shoes, despite other one’s critical eyes．If you like it, it will be the top one．If someone tells you you’re fat, or stupid or otherwise unappealing, the only person you should think badly about is them!
1．What is the passage mainly about?
A．Try to be different．         B．Different beliefs make different views．
C．You are actually amazing．    D．Trust what people say to you．
2．Which of the following sentences contains a metaphor （暗喻）?
A．A Democrat usually doesn’t view issues the same way as a Republican．
B．Some like custom shoes for personalization．
C．An anorexic looks in the mirror and thinks she is fat．
D．Design your own custom shoes, despite others’ critical eyes．
3．The reason why the writer wrote this passage is to        ．
A．confuse people as how to think
B．help people learn how to do self – reflection
C．tell people different ways of thinking
D．show he is smarter than most of the people

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


第三部分：閱讀理解（共15小題；每小題2分，滿分30分）
請認真閱讀下列短文，從短文后各題所給的A、B、C、D四個選項中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
If you see a student napping (打瞌睡) in the library, don't roll your eyes. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour's nap can considerably improve and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a nap not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter.
"Sleep not only rights the wrong of extended wakefulness but it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap." said Matthew Walker, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the lead investigator of UC Berkeley sleep studies.
The latest study suggests that the brain may need sleep to process short-term memories, creating "space" for new facts to be learned. In their experiment, 39 healthy adults were given a hard learning task in the morning~~with broadly similar results, before half of them were sent for their nap. When the tests were repeated, the nappers improved their scores by 10 percent on average after sleeping; the scores of those who didn't nap actually dropped by 10 percent.
The results support previous data from the same research team that staying up all night―a common practice at college during midterms and finals―decreases the ability to memorize new facts by nearly 40 percent, due to a shutdown of brain regions for lack of sleep, said Walker.
"Sleep is needed to clear the brain's short-term memory storage and make room for new information." said Walker. "It's as though the e-mail inbox in your brain is full and, until you sleep and clear out those e-mails, you're not going to receive any more mail."
However, Professor Derk Jan Dijk, the director of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, said that there was no clear evidence that daytime napping offered a distinct advantage over sleeping soundly just once over 24 hours.
"The sleep-wake cycle is not as fixed as we might think―we have the capability to sleep in different ways, "said Professor Derk Jan Djjk.
"The size of these effects is much more difficult to judge―if I have to learn something, for example, it's easier to do this when I'm feeling awake and ready than when I'm sleepy." he added.
56.According to UC Berkeley's new findings, the benefit of a nap is that   .
A.it helps to fix a napper's sleep-wake cycle
B.it makes hard learning tasks not difficult any more
C.it allows the brain to make room for new learning
D.it gives nappers chances to clear out their memory storage
57.Matthew Walker's study shows that___________.
A.learning ability in the morning is usually higher than that in the afternoon
B.extra working hours before an exam can make up for the lack of daily efforts
C.the size of the effects of napping depends on when it is taken
D.staying up late before an exam does not necessarily improve students' exam performance
58.The two research teams mentioned in the text may both agree that_____________      .
A.people's sleep-wake cycle decides the length of midday nap
B.sufficient sleep betters people's learning performance
C.scientific experiments are undependable as the results are often hard to judge
D.the differences in their findings result from different methods applied
59.What can we learn from this passage?
A.Rolling your eyes can stop you from napping.
B.Some people might move themselves when sleeping.
C.College students tend to study late into night before important exams.
D.Sleeping once over 24 hours is much better than daytime napping.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


U.S. airlines are seeing a major interruption because of hundreds of flights canceled due to the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, but European flight companies will face the biggest losses.
The airline business has been tough: The decline dramatically slowed traffic; February heavy snow forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights; and now the ashes from the volcano stopped all traffic in and out of northern Europe for days.
"For U.S. flight companies, it'll be a relatively short-term hit," said Michael Boyd, president of Boyd Group International, an aviation (航空學) consulting firm. "We think right now they're down about $80 million in terms of lost income, and they're down domestically about 80,000 passengers that would have been flying domestically but aren't because they can't get here."
Delta announced that volcano-related interruption grounded about 400 flights until Monday at a cost of $20 million in lost revenues. But compare that to the recent snowstorms, when the airline canceled 7,000 flights and lost $65 million in revenue.
The disruption has created uncertainty for customers, but analysts say U.S. airlines won't face as many costs as you might think. They are not flying in extra planes to handle the passengers in trouble because, airline analyst Robert Mann said, companies simply don't have them.
"Airlines run a very lean operation now," Mann said. "So, since there are no spare aircraft or crews, the airlines will attempt to maximize loads on every one of their aircraft that do fly. But it may take days, or in some cases a week or so, to get some of these customers to where they want to go."
46. Which negative consequences mentioned in the passage did the disasters cause?
A. coldness, pollution and airlines’ losses    
B. airport damage, pollution and slow traffic
C. passenger delay, coldness and airport damage   
D. passenger delay, airlines’ losses and slow traffic
47. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The fewest airplanes will fly the trapped passengers to their destinations.
B. All the customers are sure to be sent to their destinations in time.
C. The U.S. and U.K. airlines suffered the same losses in the natural disasters.
D. The volcano eruption reduced the traffic to and from northern Europe.  
48. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
A. the troubles that the airlines will face after the ash cloud disappears
B. the measures that the airlines will take to maximize their profit
C. the present situation of the airlines and their plan to deliver the passengers
D. the reasons why the airlines run a fine operation
49. Why will it take a long time for airlines to send the passengers to their different destinations?
A. Because the passengers enjoy staying in airports to talk with one another.
B. Because the airlines don’t have spare planes or employees to serve.
C. Because the airlines don't have enough financial support after the disaster.
D. Because the passengers are asking for full refund from the airlines.
50. The passage is most probably from_______.
A．a(chǎn) novel                                  B．a(chǎn) news report        
C．a(chǎn) magazine                               D．a(chǎn) thesis

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Attitude is an internal（內(nèi)在的）state that influences the choices of personal action made by the individual. Some researchers consider that attitudes come from differences between beliefs and ideas; others believe that attitudes come from emotional states. Here, we focus on the effects of attitudes upon behavior, that is, upon the choices of action made by the individual.
The kinds of actions taken by human beings are obviously influenced greatly by attitudes. Whether one listens to classical music or rock, whether one obeys the speed limit while driving, whether one encourages one’s husband or wife to express his or her own ideas－all are influenced by attitudes. These internal states are acquired throughout life from situations one is faced with in the home, in the streets, and in the school.
Of course, the course of action chosen by an individual in any situation will be largely determined by the particulars of that situation. An individual who has a strong attitude of obeying laws may drive too fast when he is in a hurry and no police cars in sight. A child who has a strong attitude of honesty may steal a penny when she thinks no one will notice. But the internal state which remains unchanged over a period of time, and which makes the individual behave regularly in a variety of situations, is what is meant by an attitude.
Attitudes are learned in a variety of ways. They can result from single incidents, as when an attitude toward snakes is acquired by an experience in childhood at the sudden movement of a snake. They can result from the individual’s experiences of success and pleasure, as when someone acquires a positive attitude toward doing crossword puzzles by being able to complete some of them. And frequently, they are learned by copying other people’s behavior, as when a child learns how to behave toward foreigners by observing the actions of his parents. Regardless of these differences, there is something in common in the learning and modification（修正）of attitudes.
72. According to the passage, attitudes _______ .
A. come from different situations in one’s life    
B. are largely affected by one’s behavior
C. remain unchanged in one’s daily life                                  
D. could be chosen according to one’s will
73. The author uses the examples in Paragraph 3 to show _______ .
A. people often make mistakes when they are not noticed
B. people with good attitudes may sometimes do bad deeds
C. particulars of a situation may influence an individual’s action
D. an individual may change his or her attitude fairly easily
74. Which of the following is TRUE about the learning of attitudes?
A. Attitudes are only learned through one’s success.
B. Attitudes learned in danger will last longer.
C. Copying others’ behavior is not a good idea.
D. Attitudes can be learned from one’s parents.
75. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Differences of Attitudes.   B. Nature of Attitude.
C. Choices of Attitudes. D. Modification of Attitude.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


第三部分：閱讀理解（共20小題，每小題2分，滿分40分）
閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
Sometimes you make a wish, but when it comes. you decide you don’t want it. That’s what happened with Micky’s “birthday wish”.
Our family tradition is that you make a wish before you blow out the birthday candle.  After he blew out the candle. Micky told us that his wish was to win a prize in the Pine Ridge-match. We quickly told Micky, “If you tell people your wish. your wish won’t come true.” So we lit the candle again, and he made another wish.
Micky and Paul were both supposed to start playing at 5:30.
When Micky reported to the check-in table, the game organizers told him his opponent (對手) had phoned and said he was coming late. The officials told Micky he could choose not to play and be declared the victor of the first round of competition.
But Micky said he didn’t want to win by not playing. He wanted the experience of playing a great player.
Finally, the beast showed up. He was tall, smiling and relaxed. His serve (發(fā)球) was like lightning.
Micky had some good returns, but he lost quickly, 6-1, 6-0.
We congratulated Micky on having some good returns and a few great serves. And we noted that he had won the first game.
“I didn’t win that game,” Micky said. “I think he just gave it to me at the beginning because he arrived late.”      
“It was a birthday present.” I said, smiling.
“No, I refused my birthday present,” Micky said. In his eyes, his “birthday present” had been the chance to win by his opponent’s being late.
Micky ended up winning the “consolation prize(鼓勵獎)” a small prize that we didn’t know existed until Micky earned it by being undefeated in the consolation bracket (檔次).
We’ll’ never know what Micky’s second wish was - the wish he didn’t share with us.
It seems to me that no matter how many birthdays you celebrate, as long as you enjoy challenges, you will never be “old”.
56. What kind of person is Micky?
A. A person who always gives up.          B. A person who is afraid of challenges.
C. One who enjoys challenges.               D. One who is selfish.
57. Why did Micky lose the match?
A. Because he gave up a good chance.           B. Because he let the others know his birthday wish.
C. Because he was proud of himself.       D. Because his opponent played much better than him
58. The prize Micky won was ______.
A. one he had expected                                B. not a well-known one
C. a famous one                                  D. one he thought meaningless
59. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
A. enjoying challenges is helpful for one to keep “young”
B. one will become old as he celebrates his birthdays
C. one will stay young by continuously celebrating his birthdays
D. challenges can make one never get old

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Communication technologies are far from equal when it comes to conveying the truth．The first study to compare honesty across a range of communications media has found that people are twice as likely to tell lies in phone conversations as they are in emails．The fact that emails are automatically recorded—and can come back to haunt（困擾） you—appears to be the key to the finding．
Jeff Hancock of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, asked 30 students to keep a communications diary for a week．In it they noted the number of conversations or email exchanges they had lasting more than 10 minutes, and confessed to how many lies they told．Hancock then worked out the number of lies per conversation for each medium．He found that lies made up 14 percent of emails, 21 percent of instant messages, 27 percent of face-to-face interactions and an astonishing 37 percent of phone calls．
His results, to be presented at the conference on human-computer interaction in Vienna, Austria, in April, have surprised psychologists．Some expected emailers to be the biggest liars, reasoning that because deception makes people uncomfortable, the detachment（非直接接觸） of emailing would make it easier to lie．Others expected people to lie more in face-to-face exchanges because we are most practiced at that form of communication．
But Hancock says it is also crucial whether a conversation is being recorded and could be reread, and whether it occurs in real time．People appear to be afraid to lie when they know the communication could later be used to hold them to account, he says．This is why fewer lies appear in email than on the phone．
People are also more likely to lie in real time—in an instant message or phone call, say—than if they have time to think of a response, says Hancock．He found many lies are spontaneous（脫口而出的） responses to an unexpected demand, such as: “Do you like my dress?”
Hancock hopes his research will help companies work out the best ways for their employees to communicate．For instance, the phone might be the best medium for sales where employees are encouraged to stretch the truth．But given his result, work assessment, where honesty is a priority, might be best done using email．
57．Hancock’s study focuses on ________．
A．the consequences of lying in various communications media
B．the success of communications technologies in conveying ideas
C．people’s preference in selecting communications technologies
D．people’s honesty levels across a range of communications media
58．Hancock’s research finding surprised those who believed that ________．
A．people are less likely to lie in instant messages
B．people are unlikely to lie in face-to-face interactions
C．people are most likely to lie in email communication
D．people are twice as likely to lie in phone conversations
59．According to the passage, why are people more likely to tell the truth through certain media of communication?
A．They are afraid of leaving behind traces of their lies
B．They believe that honesty is the best policy
C．They tend to be relaxed when using those media
D．They are most practiced at those forms of communication
60．According to Hancock, the telephone is a preferable medium for promoting sales because ________．
A．salesmen can talk directly to their customers
B．salesmen may feel less restrained to exaggerate
C．salesmen can impress customers as being trustworthy
D．salesmen may pass on instant messages effectively

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